The Supreme Court is defined, in part, by court-watchers – those who chronicle its workings and analyze its jurisprudence. Our understanding of the court depends on scholars such as David M. O’Brien, the late Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor at the University of Virginia’s Department of Politics. O’Brien, who died from lung cancer on December 20 at the age of 67, was among the most noted Supreme Court scholars of his time. Born on August 30, 1951, O’Brien grew up in Southern California and received his B.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He then traveled east to work at the Supreme Court. Between 1982 and 1984, he served first as a Supreme Court fellow and then as a research associate for Chief Justice Warren Burger. During his long tenure at the University of Virginia, O’Brien was one of the leading political scientists writing about the court. He was a student of the famed…
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